Lupin sued by Bayer over generic birth control pill

In the lawsuit, filed on 28 November, Bayer said Lupin is preparing to bring a copy of the Natazia pill, also called Qlaira, to US markets even though Bayer’s US patent on the pill runs through 2026. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

Frankfurt: German drugmaker Bayer AG has filed a lawsuit in the US against Indian generic drug maker Lupin Ltd, to prevent it from selling a version of Bayer’s birth-control pill Natazia in the US.

In the lawsuit, filed on 28 November, Bayer said that Lupin is preparing to bring a copy of the Natazia pill, also called Qlaira, to US markets even though Bayer’s US patent on the pill runs through 2026.

The complaint said Bayer would be entitled to an award of damages and treble damages for any commercial sales of the generic product.

Lupin declined to comment on the lawsuit. “We do not comment on on-going litigations as a matter of policy,” said Lupin spokesperson Shamsher Gorawara.

Natazia is approved in the US as a contraceptive. Birth-control is one of the most important businesses for Bayer’s pharmaceuticals arm, with contraceptive sales of €1.1 billion in 2011.